Asteroid 2006 WB to safely pass Earth on November 26
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, asteroid 2006 WB, with a diameter of 302 feet, will pass by Earth at 554,000 miles. This distance is roughly twice that between the Earth and the Moon.
6:13 AM EST, November 26, 2024
Asteroid 2006 WB is classified as a "near-Earth object" (NEO). Scientists use this categorization for celestial bodies whose orbits come within 1.3 astronomical units of the Sun. An astronomical unit is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, about 93 million miles.
NASA observes asteroids
Tens of thousands of such objects are discovered and tracked by specialized observational projects. This tracking aims to determine whether a given object poses a danger to Earth.
Potentially hazardous asteroids (PHA) are particularly interesting among the observed objects. These objects can come within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth and have a diameter greater than 459 feet. A potential collision with them could have serious consequences.
Low risk of collision
Scientists reassure us that the probability of a large asteroid hitting Earth is extremely low. Nonetheless, NASA is monitoring the situation and provides information on approaching objects. From this, we know that four other asteroids will approach our planet in the coming days.
On Monday, two bus-sized objects, 2024 WF2 and 2024 WJ3, will fly past distances of approximately 1.78 million and 2.78 million miles, respectively. Next, a plane-sized asteroid, 2009 WB105, will pass Earth at a distance of 3.60 million miles. On Tuesday, another bus-sized asteroid, 2024 WD3, will pass at a distance of 1.07 million miles from our planet.
